A Natural Way of Life

By Bobby C. Billie, Spiritual Leader, 30 August 1994

The following file includes a statement from
Bobby C. Billie, a spiritual leader of traditional independent
indigenous people in Florida. Transcribed exactly as spoken on August
30, 1994. Thank you for your attention. This statement may be
distributed where thought pertinent. Bobby is looking for responses of
support: please see the end of message for how to reply.

To Native People from the EarthIndigenous or Natural People

I'm the person believing natural way of life. I have never signed the
peace treaty. I have never given up my rights of my way of life, which
is the earth, the water, the trees, all animal species, and all
people's life. And I believe all creation, even the sky, the stars,
the sun, the clouds, the rain, the lightning, and all the others.

But people of the United States, the American people, are trying to
take my rights away and they are trying to all those things I
mentioned before to take their rights away and destroy them. And they
are trying to take all my ancestors who have been put away the natural
way.

And we have been doing this way over six thousand years that is our
right. The natural people have respected all those things. This law is
their creator's law. We still believing in the creator's law. It has
given us a way of life. That is the only law we know. And we cannot
change that. That is our way of life based on all life on this earth.

If anybody is believing this law, I need your support because they
have been digging our ancestors. It is all in storage or on view
throughout the United States and God only knows where else they have
taken them and their belongings. They are piling up and have piled up
so much they are trying to turn them over to the recognized
tribes. Those are the ones who are building their own museums.

I think these tribes are going to accept what the archaeologists, the
United States government, and park service people want to do. If that
happens, I think their digging will continue.

The ones not dug up yet have them leave them alone. They found their
resting place there. That is their right. The ones that has been
removed from their ground need to be put back, even their items and
belongings. Everything should go back. And we know who removed those
human remains and items. Those are the people who have the
responsibility to put back what they took from the earth which is the
American people. And the others dug and removed where roads and
buildings have been built taking their resting grounds. And we know
who did that too, which is the American people. And it is their
responsibility to find the grounds to put them back into the
earth. That is what I want them to do and why I am asking for their
help. Even they have animal bones and other things in their buildings
too. I went to visit them one day. Those are the ones that need their
freedom as much as anyone else. They are part of life.

For that I am asking your help and support. All native people from the
earth, indigenous and natural people. I am one of you. I am asking
your support. The name I have adopted they call me Bobby C. Billie but
I have my own natural name which I am not gonna pronounce but I know
who I am and where I come from and where I am going. So if you support
me, let me know your name, your nation and the number of people there
to support me.

In your call or letter let me know that you support the stopping of
all digging now, in the future, and beyond the future. Support that
burial grounds are resting places of our ancestors and should be
respected and left untouched. The rights of these people must be
honored and respected. The burial grounds which have been disturbed
should be put back as they originally were and those items and human
remains which have no safe ground to return to the earth, should be
put back into the earth, not in museums or sold as collector's
items. These items and human remains must be respected and returned to
the earth in the right and respectful way.

And we want to be there to see that it is done right when the items
and human remains are put back into the earth.

The people who removed the items must be responsible for putting them
back into the earth with us there to make sure they do it right and
respectfully.

These crimes against the indigenous natural people's resting grounds
must stop.

I don't know how to read or write because of that I have asked someone
to write this down for me.